Breech-operating mechanism for ordnance.



PATENT No. 896,669.. ED AUG. 18, 1908. 0. P. E. SCHNEIDER.

BREEOH OPERATING MEGHANISM FOR ORDNAN 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

hwantoz APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16,1907.

N /9 eases No. 896,669. 'PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908.

G. P. E. SCHNEIDER.

BREBGH OPERATING-MECHANISM FOR ORDNANCE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16 1907. 4 SHEETSSHEET 2,

No. 896,669. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908. G. P. E. SCHNEIDER.

BREECH OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANCE.

' PLI TION II D T.16, 190

AP GA LE SE? 7 4 SHEET$SHEET 3.

No. 896,669. PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908.

a. 'P, E. SCHNEIDER. BREECH OPERATING MECHANISM FOR O'RDNANOE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1907.

. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

I it" woes CHARLES PROSPER EUGENE SCHNEIDER, OF LE CREUSOT, FRANCE.

BBEECH-OPERATING MECHANISM FOR ORDNANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

Original application filed November 14, 1905, Serial No. 287,377. Divided and this application filed September 16, 1907. Serial No. 393,122.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES PRosP'EE EUGENE SCHNEIDER, citizen of the Republic of France, residing at Le Creusot, Saone-et- Loire, France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Breech-Operating Mechanism for Ordnance, of which the following is a specification.v

This invention relates to breech operating mechanism for ordnance, the object being to provide means whereby breeches having concentric threads may be operated either entirely by hand or partially by hand and partially or entirely automatically, as may be desired, and is a division of my United States application Sr. No. 287,377, filed November 14th, 1905.

With the objects above indicated in view, the invention consists of the construction and arrangement of parts hereafter shown and described. in detail, and then defined in the claims.

The inventive idea involved is capable of a variety of mechanical expressions, one of which, for the purpose of illustration, is shown in the accompanying drawings; in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, with parts shown in section, of the gun in battery position. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the breech end of the gun; and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section through the sleeve cradle of the gun, showing certain parts supported thereby. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the gun in recoil position; and Fig. 6 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 1 with the breech open.

Referring to the drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts, a is a cradle or sleeve carriage which is relatively stationary with regard to the gun during the recoil and counter-recoil movements of the latter. Formed on one side, and here shown as the right-hand side, of this cradle or sleeve carriage or is a boss 1) within which are provided suitable cavities for springs c, 0, against which a bufier bar (1 impinges, the springs yielding sufficiently to permit the buffer bar at to be moved within certain definite limits parallel with the axis of the gun, the extent of such movement being limited or determined by an abutment in the form of a screw-plug e passing through the buffer bar and taking into a slot provided in the body of the boss, as will be clearly understood from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 4. The bufi'er bar-extends rearward from the boss of and has on its rearward end a forwardly inclined cam face 4. Projecting from the side of the sleeve a and preferably below the boss I) is an arm or lug f to which there is articulated a buffer bar 0, see Figs. 4 and 6. The forward end of this buifer bar 0 is formed as a piston 0 and plays within the hollow end Z of bar Z, there being 'a spring a surrounding the buffer bar 0 between the piston on the end of said bar, and a ring p also surrounding the buffer bar and located within the hollow forward end Z of bar 1. Pivoted to the downwardly depending lugs at the forward end Z of bar Z is a trigger lever 9, preferably in the shape of a bell-crank lever whose forward arm g bears against the ring p and whose other arm extends rearward toward the breech of the gun and is provided with an upwardly extending lug or part 3 and with retaining shoulder 6 which normally projects upward through a slot in the bottom part of the hollow forward end Z of the rod Z and engages the piston 0 on the end of the bulfer rod 0.

The breech bolt is provided with an operating lever 9 having three arms g, g 9 Projeoting from the end of arm g is a bolt h yieldingly held in position by the spring i, while the arm 9 has articulated thereto the rear end of the operating bar I. The arm has a handle 7 within which is located a catch 7' normally pressed outward by a spring 7c, see Fig. 2'. When the parts are in position with the breech closed this catch projects into a cut-away slot 1 in the bufier bar cl, the rear portion of the slot being formed as a cam or incline, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The extractor s, of the usual or any suitable construction, rocking on trunnions, as is ordinary in guns of this class, has keyed to its trunnions lugs 2 and a and a bent lever 25, which latter projects into the path of an eccentric curved surface 12 shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1, 5 and 6. The lug a projects into the path of the catch it on the arm g in such position as to be struck by said catch just before the opening movement of the breechblock is completed. Immediately below the position of lug u there is a projecting cam surface a and immediately below a; there is formed a shoulder or face 2 in the path of the bolt h.

Operation: With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1 in order to open the breech by hand the spring bolt j is released by im parting a relative movement between the olt and the buffer b, by moving the buffer 5 bar forward which causes the bolt to ride up the cam or incline at the rear of the retaining notch in the buffer and the operating lever g is depressed or moved downward. Upon this downward movement the arm 9 which is articulated to the rod Z by the pin m acts to draw said rod Z rearward against the tension of spring at until the spring is compressed to a point where the retaining lever g rises with its shoulder 6 in front of the piston whereupon the breech is held in its open position. A cartridge being inserted with some force against the extractor s the latter is turned on its trunnions, causing the cam face lug 2 on said trunnions to wipe the lug 3 on retaining lever g, thereby depressing it and freeing the shoulder 6 from the piston 0 when the spring re-acts, driving the bar Z forward and thereby throwing the parts back into their normal position shown in Fig. and closing the breech, and when the bolt y' comes opposite the slot 1 in the buifer-bar it enters it and locks the breech in closed posion. The operation thus described is one which the breech is opened by hand and tomatically closed. If it is desired to not ly open but close the breech by hand this accomplished by withdrawing the pin on ich connects the operating bar Z to arm he operating lever g. or operating the mechanism automaticboth in the opening and closing movets, the gun being loaded, upon the disge thereof the gun and all the parts exthe rod 0 and the buffer (1 (which parts \ounted on the cradle a) move rearward the gun. This relative movement bethe lever arm g and the buffer bar (1 the bolt 3' to ride up the incline of the g groove and free it from the buffer bar, soon as it has passed the buffer bar the k re-acts and again throws the bolt d. Upon the termination of the rel the counter-recoil having begun, the ipinges against the cam face 4 on the ar (Z, the springs c, c acting to cushion The cam face 4 acts to forcibly e operating lever g downward, thereing the breech. In this opening it the cam or eccentric surface 0) im on the arm 15 of the extractor with a cam action, serving to loosen the shell in its seat the opening move- .tinuing, the bolt 7L projecting from f the lever arm g strikes the lug u on nion of the extractor and gives it a rap which serves to wholly eject the osened cartridge shell from the gun. arning of the trunnion permits the bolt further advance, whereupon it impinges the cam surface at, thereby acting to force it inward against the tension of its spring and permitting the lug u to resume its position. The opening movement is checked and the extent thereof finally and definitely determined by the impinging of bolt it against the stop surface 2. During this opening movement, the arm Z being articulated to arm g of the operating lever by the pin m acts to compress the spring it between the ring p and the piston 0, and the reaction of the spring through the ring p against the arm q of the retaining lever g throws the latter up until the shoulder 6 thereon engages the front of piston 0, as shown in Fig. 6. The cartridge being inserted acts in the manner heretofore described to trip the retaining lever 9 through the lug 2 on the trunnion of the extractor and the lug 3 on the retaining lever, whereupon the spring n re-acts and returns the parts to normal position to close the breech as shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

Mechanical security against danger due to premature opening of the breech in case the gun hangs fire is obtained by the arrangement of seat 1, buffer cl and its relation to the bolt 7' with their correspondingly inclined faces. The relation of these parts is such that the operating lever arm cannot be disengaged from the buffer merely by grasping the handle 1', but requires at the same time a second action in. the reverse direction upon the buffer bar d, so that the necessity to grasp and move these parts is of itself a warning to the gunner which is ample to prevent a hurried and ill-advised opening of the breech in cases of hang-fire.

What is claimed is 1. The combination of the concentrically threaded breech-block, with an operating lever secured thereto, a rod operatively con nected to said lever, a spring reacting there on, means actuating said lever to open said breech block during the first part of the counterrecoil, means placing said spring un der tension on the guns recoil, and means for releasing said s ring, whereby the latter acts through said ever to close the breech block.

2. The combination of a concentricallythreaded breech-block, with an operating lever secured thereto, means engaging and actuating said lever during counter-recoil of the gun to open the breech, a power device having an articulated connection. with said breechblock and utilizing energy stored during recoil and actuating said breech-block to close the same after counter-recoil ceases.

8. The combination of a concentrically threaded breech-block, with a manually operable actuating lever secured thereto, and automatic actuating means engaging said lever and actuating it to open the breech during the counter-recoil of the gun, and au tomatic devices to close the breech after counter recoil is complete.

seaece 4. The combination with a concentrically threaded breech-block, of an operating lever secured thereto, means locking said lever in closed position, a power spring arranged to be compressed on the recoil of the gun, means independent of said sprin to actuate the operating lever during the first part of the counter-recoil to 0 en the breech, and means connected to sai lever and actuated by said spring to close the breech.

5. The combination with a concentrically threaded breech-block, of an 0 crating lever therefor,- means actuating sai lever during counter-recoil to open the breech, and a power device receiving energy from the recoil and connected to said lever to close the breech.

6. The combination with a concentrically threaded breech block, of an actuating lever therefor, means actuating said lever during counter-recoil to open the breech, a spring connected to said lever and placed under tension by the guns recoil, means retaining said spring under tension during counter recoil and the opening movements of the breech-block, and a trip device to trip said retaining means upon the insertion of a cartridge, whereby the spring is freed and acts to close the breech.

7. The combination of a concentrically threaded breechblock, with an operating lever therefor, a buffer device to which said lever is locked when the breech is closed, and a cam surface on said buifer device located in the path of said lever during counter-recoil,

whereby the breech is automatically opened.

whereby the breech is automatically opened, v

and a spring tension device connected to said lever to close the breech.

9. The combination of a concentrically threaded breech block, with an operating lever therefor, a spring pressed rod articu lated to said lever, a restraining device hold ing said spring under tension when the breech is open, and a trip for said retainin device actuated by the cartridge when the latter is inserted in the gun.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two sub scribing witnesses.

CHARLES PROSPER EUGENE SCHNEIDER.

Witnesses:

CH. DE LAGRANGE, CLEMENT. J. MALLET. 

